Process of purifying paraffine-wax



(No Model.)

J. E. BIGKNELL.

PROGESS OP PURIFYING PARAFFINE WAX.

,042. Patented Mar. 26, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. BIOKNELL, OF OIL CITY, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS OF PURIFYING PARAFFlNE-WAX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,042, dated March 26, 1889.

Application filed December 2, 1886. Serial No. 220,489. (No specimens.)

T0 ztZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN E. BICKNELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oil City, county of Venango, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Purifying Parafi'ine and Extracting Oil from Oleaginous Materials; and I do hereby declare the following to be a description of the same, and of the manner of using the invention, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it appertains to use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the specification, the principle of the invention being herein explained and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

This invention relates to a refining and separating of paraffine-wax or oleaginous substances. While the specific object, however, in making this invention was to provide a pro cess for removing from paraffine-scales the oil and soft portions thereof, and, therefore, in the following description I will set forth the process with reference only to paraffine, yet it will be understood that any other oleaginous material may be substituted for the paraffine and treated in like manner therewith.

The primary feature in view by me in the making of this invention was to subject the crude paraffine-wax to a treatment of a heated liquid, whereby the softer portions of the wax could be separated by and within the volume of the liquid, the softer portion of the wax being liquefied by the suitable temperature of the liquid and by reason of its specific gravity relative to said liquid rising to the surface of the latter, the harder portions of the paraffine-wax being maintained within the volume of the liquid and below the stratum of the liquefied softer portions of the wax which have arisen to the surface of the liquid. To this end I have discovered or invented the process of subjecting the crude wax to the action of a liquid having a temperature substantially equal to or above the liquefying-point of the softer portions of the wax and below the liquefying-point of the harder portions of the wax, and maintaining the unliquefied hard wax below the surface of the liquid while allowing the liquefied soft portion of the wax to rise to the surface of the liquid, then withdrawing the said liquefied soft portion of the wax and permanently removing it from the hard portion-of the wax.

The dn wing annexed to this description shows one form of apparatus adapted to carry out the principle of this invention, and I will now proceed to describein detail the mode of operation and the method of carrying out the invention. It will, however, be understood that in doing so I do not restrict my invention to said apparatus or to the detail steps incident to the operation described in connection with said apparatus, inasmuch as the principle of the invention is independent of contradistinction to apparatus.

It will also be understood that while I show the apparatus represented in the drawing as my preferred form of apparatus at the present time for carrying out the principle of the invention, yet that apparatus of an entirely different construction might be devised or employed in substitution for the apparatus shown, provided only that the same be adapted to carry out the principle of my invention, as I shall hereinafter state the latter in the summary of the claims at the close of the description.

Reference being now had to the drawing, the figure is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus.

A tank, A, of suitable size, according to the conditions of any particular case, is provided at its bottom with a steam-coil pipe, a, having suitable inlet and outlet passages. The tank is also provided at its lower portion with a water-supply pipe, I). The upper portion of zontal passage, 0, communicating respectively, with the tank A and with the auxiliary tank B. This latter tank, B, is of height substantially that of the main tank A, and of horizontal dimension less than said main tank. The main tank and supplemental tank are located adjacent to one another, the main tank being for use in the separation of the soft from the hard 'wax, while the supplemental tank is for the receipt of the separated one side of the tank is provided with a horiapparatus, and relates solely to a process in soft wax, and the latter may be drawn therefrom at will. A passage, (1, connects the lower central portion of pa sage o with the lower adjacent side portion of tank A. A gate, 0, regulates the tlow of liquid through passage 0 into tank 13 from tank A, said gate having vertical movement within a suitable reccss,f, formed in the bottom of passage 0 intermediate of passage (1 and tank ll, an adjusting-swew, {1, controlling said 'gate, so that its top may be llush with the bottom of passage 1:, or may be maintained at any desired elevation above said passage bottom. Tank 13 provided with a suitable valvc-outlet, 7:, located at its lower portion. A sieve, U, of horizontal area adapted to lit closely within. tank A, is vertically adjusted by a suitable rope-and-pulley apparatus, D, said sieve being guided in such vertical movement by guides I. To one of said guides at bar, in, is pivoted and extends across the diameter of the tank A to an opposite sieve-guide. The central portion of said bar engages with the top of a post, a, prtiijecting upward from the central point of the sieve. An adjusting device, p, is connected with the sieve-guide adjacent to the tree extrmnity of said pivotal moss-bar, said adj usting device bein adapted to engage with said free extremity of the cross-bar and force the latter down in engagement with sieve-post n, therebypressing said sieve downward within the tank and its contents.

The adjusting device p is connected to its sievcguide by a swinging bearing r, adapted to swing the said adjusting device inlateral or horizontal nim'enuimt', so as to permit the crossbar in to have its free extremity clear said adjusting device, as the cross-bar may be thrown upon its pivot to permit of the elevation of the sieve above the tank.

The sieve t is provided on its under surface with depending lingers .9, which alternate in location, with duplicate-shaped fingers 1, formed in upward projection on the upper surface of a support, E, said support being located below the sieve within the tank A. This support it is secured to a central rotary upright shaft, l5, which p: downward through a suitable opening in the bottom of the tank and actuated in its rotary movementby gearing (1 The perforations in the sieve are of area adapted to permit of the free passage through them of the liquefied wax,but to prevent the passage through them of the hard or unliq ielied portion of the wax.

The detail. steps in the carrying outof my process are as follows in connection with this described apparatus: The tank A partially filled with water, which latter is raised to the proper upon the quality or melting-point of the wax desired) by admitting steam to circulate through the steam-coil. The wax in a solid state is placed within the tank on top of the water, said wax bein lighter than the water, remaining thus on the surface of the latter.

dcgreoof temperature (dependent The sieve is then lowered down onto the wax and is forced down into the water, carrying the wax along with and beneath it into the water. This forcing of the sieve down into the water effected by means of the crossbar 711 and its vertically-adjusting device 1).

The temperature of the water is so regulatedby means of the steam-coil and its valveopenings as to be substantially at or above the meltingpoint of the softer portions of the wax and below the melting-point of the harder portions of the wax. The softer portion of the wax as it melts rises by its own buoyancy up through the perforations of the sieve and to the surface of the water above the sieve, the specific gravity of the wax thus causing the liquefied portion thereof, unrestrained by the sieve, to thus automatically separate and withdrawitselt from the mass of the solid wax and rise to the surface of the water. The liquefied soft: portion of the wax is thus gathered in a stratum on the surface of the water, whereupon an ii'lcrease of water is admitted through pipe I) to tank It, said in crease in the volume of water raising the stratum of separated liquefied wax, so as to cause the latter to overflow through passage 0 into tank B. This overflow of melted wax from out of passage 0 is effected over the top of gate 0, said gate being adjusted in elevation above the bottom of said passage 0 to prevent the flow of water thereover, but to permit: of the melted wax passing over said gate. The water in tank A, being heated at its bottom by the steam coil, rises up through the wax and through the perforations of the sieve to the passage 0, and out from" the lattor through downward passage d to the bot;- tom of the tank A again, thus Ollftjfitll'lg a complete and continuous circulation from the bottom up to the top of the tank A and out there front, it being apparent that while the heating of the water by the steam-coil causes the water thus heated to pass in upward movement through thetank and out from the latter the water thus passed out fromthe tank becomes somewhat cooled before again entering the tank, said 'resup 'ilied water being thereupon reheated in the bottom of the tank neparatory to a repetition of the foregoingalescribed circulation. The wax is aidcd in this retining and separating process by the simultaneous disintegration of the same effected by the rotary movement of the fingered support E, acting in combination with the depending fingers s of the sieve. This disintegratioi'i of the wax simultaneous with the litpicfaction of its softer portions brings the wax in a finely-divided state into more immediate contact with the heated water, and thus hastens the process of liquefaction of the said softer portions of the wax and the separation thereof from the harder portions of the wax. A further advantage of this disintegration is,that by thus bringing every particle of wax by itself into contact with the heated water not so much of the hard waxis incl ted during the i'rocessas would be the case were the entire mass of wax to remain longer in the water. The tendency of the wax is to become plastic and sticky if not kept in motion; hence the desirability of thus disintegrating it, though it is possible and even practicable to omit this disintegrating step in the process, at the loss of time, however. After the separation of the soft portion of the wax from the hard portion has been effected the gate e is lowered and all the melted soft wax remaining on the surface of the water is drawn off through passage 0 into tank B. The sieve is then elevated above the tank by means of the pulley apparatus D, and the hard or solid portion of the wax is removed from the tank. The melted or soft wax may be drawn out from tank B at will through the valved discharge h. During this process of liquefaction and separation the liquid or water removes all foreign matter from the separated wax Without other manipulation or treatment. The coloring-matter contained in the crude wax is removed also. A regular temperature can also thus bebrought to bear upon the waX, thereby causing a quick separation and also a large yield of purified wax.

The cost of heating the liquid or water, it is apparent, is also comparatively slight.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention 1. A process for purifying or refining a substance having portions of different fusibility, the same consisting in forcing through the substance a fluid heated to or above the liquefying-point of the softer portions of the substance, simultaneously disintegrating said substance, and then withdrawing the portions liquefied at that temperature, substantially as set forth.

2. A process for purifying or refininga substance having portions of different fusibility, the same consisting in forcing up through the substance a fluid heated to or above the liquefying-point of the softer portions of the substance, simultaneously disintegrating said substance, then gradually withdrawing a portion of the upper portion of said fluid, simultaneously floating off a portion of the substance treated liquefled at said temperature, and gradually introducing beneath the substance the fluid withdrawn and forcing it again through the substance treated, thus causing said fluid to have a constant circulation through the substance treated, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing to be my invention I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of November, A. D. 1886.

JOHN E. BIOKNELL.

Witnesses:

MARTIN CAREY, J. D. ARTERS. 

